Rock will lose its role as 95.5 switches to Christian format

At 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, the modern rock of WBRU, broadcasting at 95.5 FM, will be replaced by the adult contemporary Christian music of newcomer WLVO.

Andy Smith Journal Arts Writer asmith651

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — WBRU's radio signal is on the stairway to heaven.

At 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, the modern rock of WBRU, broadcasting at 95.5 FM, will be replaced by the adult contemporary Christian music of newcomer WLVO. About five paid employees of WBRU will lose their jobs.

WLVO is owned by Educational Media Foundation, a California-based company that runs two big Christian music radio networks, K-LOVE and Air1. WLVO will be a K-LOVE station. Its daily programming will come not from Rhode Island but Rockland, Calif., and Indianapolis.

EMF agreed to purchase the broadcast license and transmitter of WBRU for $5.63 million. Art Norwalk, spokesman for the board of Brown Broadcasting Services, said that figure was the high bid "by a wide margin."

Joe Miller, director of signal acquisition for EMF, said the company already owned a station in the state, at 104.7-FM in Warwick. But he said that is a relatively weak signal, and EMF was looking for a stronger presence in the Rhode Island market. EMF is a nonprofit that owns about 400 radio stations around the country.

The money from the sale will establish an endowment to create what WBRU student staffers call "an advanced media workshop" at WBRU.com. The expanded website will include streaming music, mobile phone apps, a research and development team and at least three new audio projects.

One, still untitled, will be devoted to local news, while "Sound Wave: Rhode Island" will explore the past and present of the Rhode Island music scene. A third show in development, "The Amplifier" will focus on people of color in the state.

WBRU's long-running black music show "The 360 Degree Experience in Sound" will be one of two 24-hour music streams at WBRU.com. Station staffers said they are also looking to lease a radio signal for Sundays so "360" can air on traditional radio for people who do not have access to online devices.

"WBRU is not going away," said general manager Kishanee Haththotuwegama. "We are moving to a 21st century platform with greater potential for creative expression and community service."

But the reaction of most WBRU radio listeners (and some WBRU alumni) has been a combination of anger, sadness and disappointment.

"Disappointment and confusion," said Andrew McQuaide, 29, of Charlestown. "What am I going to listen to in my car?"

McQuaide said he's a millennial, and the idea that younger audiences will desert radio to listen to online platforms such as wbru.com doesn't ring true to him.

"WBRU is a cultural icon of Rhode island. I'm a younger listener. But there's a generation of WBRU listeners who grew up with it, and they are going to be without their radio station," he said.

Musician Mark Cutler, 59, whose band The Schemers won The WBRU Rock Hunt in 1982, said he was upset.

"WBRU is part of our local culture. It affects and reflects our community," he said. "I think K-LOVE is not part of our culture at all ... WBRU is not even geared to my demographic anymore. But it affected what I listened to, and how I perceived the world. My life would not have been the same without it."

Seth Resler worked at WBRU as a Brown student in 1995-1999, then returned to the station as program director from 2003-2006. He said the decision to sell was "a horrible mistake. A permanent mistake."

"I'm a big proponent of podcasts. It makes a lot of sense for [WBRU] to try these digital avenues. But they would be much better off if they did that in coordination with an existing radio station."